Studying at York
Borders, Bodies, Bridges: Migration & Racialisation in Modern Literature & Culture - ENG00111H
Module summary
Our globalised world is characterised by forced and voluntary flows of people, labour, capital, resources, and ideas as well as violent or protective barriers to certain forms of circulation. This module will address the following questions: How do literary and cultural forms emerge from and engage with different migratory modes and diasporic identities? How does cultural production intervene in the so-called 'refugee crisis'? How does exile affect representations of home, family, and nation? How do literary reflections on enslavement and its legacies address gaps in historical archives? Throughout the module we will bring literary and cultural works into dialogue with other theoretical work on racialisation, racism, and migration.
Module will run
| Occurrence | Teaching period |
|---|---|
| A | Semester 1 2024-25 |
Module aims
This module aims to introduce you to literary and cultural representations of migration and racialised identities in a range of locations across the world, including the US-Mexico border and ‘Fortress Europe’ (e.g. migrant camps in Calais and North Africa). Throughout the module you will develop your skills of close reading, formal analysis, and your ability to bring literary and filmic texts into dialogue with other theoretical work on migration and racialisation.
Module learning outcomes
On successful completion of the module, you should be able to:
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Demonstrate an advanced understanding of and engagement with literary and cultural representations of different forms of migration in a variety of geographical contexts.
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Demonstrate an advanced understanding of and engagement with the interplay of content and form in literary/cultural creation through close reading.
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Evaluate key debates within the relevant critical fields dealing with cultural engagements with migration and racialisation.
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Produce independent arguments and ideas which demonstrate an advanced proficiency in critical thinking, research, and writing skills.
Indicative assessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Special assessment rules
None
Additional assessment information
Throughout the module, you will have the opportunity to pitch, road-test, and develop essay ideas. Feedback will be integrated into your seminars or the ‘third hour’ (i.e. the lecture or workshop).
You will submit your summative essay via the VLE during the revision and assessment weeks at the end of the teaching semester (weeks 13-15). Feedback on your summative essay will be uploaded to e:Vision to meet the University’s marking deadlines
Indicative reassessment
| Task | % of module mark |
|---|---|
| Essay/coursework | 100 |
Module feedback
You will receive feedback on all assessed work within the University deadline, and will often receive it more quickly. The purpose of feedback is to inform your future work; it is designed to help you to improve your work, and the Department also offers you help in learning from your feedback. If you do not understand your feedback or want to talk about your ideas further you can discuss it with your tutor or your supervisor, during their Open Office Hours
For more information about the feedback you will receive for your work, see the department's Guide to Assessment
Indicative reading
Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel’s The Gurugu Pledge (2017) translated into English by Jethro Soutar
Olumide Popoola and Annie Holmes’s Breach (2016)
Mayra Santos-Febres’s Boat People translated into English by Vanessa Pérez-Rosario (2021 [2005])
Mati Diop’s Atlantique/Atlantics (2019) with English subtitles
Cristina Peri Rossi’s La nave de los locos (1984) / The Ship of Fools translated into English by Psiche Hughes
Gloria Anzaldúa’s Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza (1987)
Javier Zamora’s Unaccompanied (2017)
Hamid Sulaiman’s Freedom Hospital: A Syrian Story (2016)
Ocean Vuong’s Night Sky with Exit Wounds (2016)